Female Forward Int.

2021 Gender Equality Report

As part of the Female Forward International campaign, we not only showcase amazing women and their stories, but also research by FNF and/or our partners, which have been doing amazing work in the field. Today, we would like to present Liberal International’s (LI) second annual Gender Equality Report. With the support of D66, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation – European Dialogue and the LI Human Rights Committee, the report presents the findings from the 2021 Women In Political Parties Index Survey, which LI member parties were encouraged to complete in the spring of 2021.

The WIPP Index is a tool developed by LI to help members identify where and how they can improve diversity and inclusion within their party structures. The questions in the survey deal with themes such as parties’ female representation in parliament and their intra-party mechanisms to support gender equality. The new report presents some encouraging developments. For instance, one-third of the participating parties reported having a female leader, which is significantly higher than in 2020. The report also shows that the participating parties’ female representation in parliament is slightly higher than the global average.

While many of the findings are encouraging, the results of the WIPP Index also show where there are shortcomings, and where more work needs to be done to improve inclusivity. One example highlighted in the report is that while many parties have codes of conduct in place, many still lack an efficient mechanism for dealing with cases of gender-based harassment and discrimination.

Advancing gender equality and empowering women in politics is one of LI’s and FNF’s long-standing priorities and it is research like this, that guides us in our future activities, by identifying trends and challenges regarding gender equality in politics!

You can find the English version of the report below. The French and Arabic versions can be found on the LI website.